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Fortune Cookie: Undertake a quest for a new beginning in a way that is full of adventure yet considerate of the law: WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND!

This card last turned for us in mid-October. So, aside from me, IS THERE ANYBODY NOT PAYING SUFFICIENT ATTENTION TO THIS CARD? I mean it. Really! Own up. Right. Attention? Right? Right.

All right, boys and girls, ALL TOGETHER NOW:

Aces in any Tarot deck are cards of a new beginning.

Therefore:

~ How can you (how do you need to) begin your life anew, today, right now?

~ What changes can you begin, even in ways that may seem small?

~ What potentials can you believe in, hope for, reach for and remember?

When the Ace of Swords comes up in a reading, as it did in a big way for a client last week, I say something like:

Your new beginning has to do with going on an adventure, of giving yourself permission to go after something that really sets your heart and soul on fire.

Please understand, if you undertake this quest, it very well may involve the release of some element of your life that no longer serves you.

Should you find that to be the case, strive to let the release be as quick and clean as possible, a very skillful surgery.

I’ll stand by that.

But as I’ve worked with clients who have had this card come up, I’ve also come to perceive that the adventure, the new beginning and the release tend to have an aspect of destiny to them: we often find that the person has reached a point where theymust make some choices to move forward in order to evolve as their life offers them the potential to do [and perhaps as they hoped when outlining their potential life contract for this time around].

And what I often see is, in doing so, they do very well to remember thateven big changes can be initiated and made without creating negative karma. And I’m going to keep telling myself that until I can actually do it.

By the way, I have also found that this card betokens a positive outcome for skillfully undertaken literal surgery.

For some people, by the way, the adventure they decide to go on, and the “surgery” or the release they decide to make, can lead to a profound healing of the romantic side of life as well.)

So:

What is your new beginning? What adventure does your destiny call you to − beginning today? What may you be called to release?

Undertake your quest in a way that is firm yet considerate of the law:

WHAT GOES AROUND

COMES AROUND

Bright blessings and joyous adventures!

Quote for the Day: In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move. ~ Douglas Adams

Fortune Cookie: Do your work. Do it brilliantly. But know that you must WITHOUT FAIL build in play time (as YOU perceive it), recovery time, recharging time in order to be fulfilled in your life, and in order to fulfill your promises to the world at this time.

We last saw His Highness almost exactly four months ago. And about a month before that. And just a month before THAT. He’s back. Ya s’pose we’re finally ready to pay a little attention, here?

So, then…

A lovely, mellow and healing card. A card that reminds us to take time for and attend to healing. And a powerful card, too.

The Fisher King is, according to Arthurian legend, the hereditary guardian of The Holy Grail, which has rested within his family’s castle for generations — if not centuries. There are many versions of why he has the title, Fisher King; some of these old Celtic stories actually precede the Arthur legends by a long, LOOONG way.

Anyway, in my Nealio’s sprained-bashed-beatup-and-mangled faerystory version of what you need to know about him:

The Fisher King is a kind, brave, generous, creative and well-balanced ruler who has a mystical bent and a deep respect for the sacred – which is hardly surprising. After all, he is about as much A PART of the sacred himself as a person can be. So keep an eye out for such a person over the next few days. [You’ll probably find that he’s making plans to move to Austria. Or the Netherlands. Toronto, anyway.]

And see what you can do to emulate more fully those characteristics yourself. [Editorial comment: Boy, could this country use a dose of THAT for the coming years. Not being more “religious,” mind, but emulating more fully a kind, brave, generous, creative and well-balanced ruler who has a mystical bent and a deep respect for the sacred.]

Yep. Yep. Yep.

As if.

Anyway…

At one point, The Fisher King took a magical wound, a wound that was unhealing. In some traditions, the characteristic of this unhealing wound would, in and of itself, mark him as a shaman, or at least shamanically inclined.

According to legend, the only time he was completely free of the wound’s ravaging pain was when he would go out alone in his little boat, fishing. So he would do that at some point, if possible, every day − and then go back to his labors as guardian of The Grail.

And that begins to bring us back to the card itself.

When this card turns up for a client, I usually say something along the line of:

Look. This is a period during which you’re going to be very busy. You’re probably going to have lots of responsibilities and have to go in a number of different directions all at once.

And you’ll care enough about it all to want to do it ALL really well.

So, from the outset, remember to be fair, kind and generous to those who work with you and those who are around you in your life.

Be brave about going after what you really need in order to be able to do things well, and about going after what will really be for the highest and best of all concerned. [And make sure you have a good, honest, OBJECTIVE view of what that means.]

And remember to be fair, kind and generous to yourself as well.

Plan from the beginning to build in – and use − specific, regular times for rest, recuperation, re-inspiration and whatever is necessary for you to be recharged, refilled and fulfilled.

Do your work. Do it brilliantly. But know that you must WITHOUT FAIL build in play time (as YOU perceive it – for some of us, that’s a good, dream-filled nap), recovery time, recharging time in order to be fulfilled in your life, and in order to fulfill your promises to the world at this time.

Brightest blessings!

Quote for the Day:If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it’s not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever. ~ Dalai Lama

On This Date: 1946 – While riding a train to Darjeeling, Sister Teresa Bojaxhiu of the Loreto Sisters’ Convent claimed to have heard the call of God, directing her “to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them”. She would become known as Mother Teresa.

Text from Last Night: … the old man that you threw the shoe at says “hi” … and many rude words…

This card last popped up for the blog just a couple weeks ago. Just like yesterday’s card. It’s one that has a lot of helpful direction to it. It is, however [also just like yesterday’s], another one of those cards that sets clients awhimperin’ just from the visuals. [Except for those who are superGoth. They just ask for directions so they can find the place. And whether there is an app for the thing. And where they can buy ‘shrooms. And GOOD eyeliner.]

The card, you see, (at least in the deck I use) portrays a wayfaring knight who has ridden into a lonely chapel to protect himself and his steed from a furious storm. He notices that the altar is without any adornment, save for a large, brightly flaming candle. As he waits, and drips, he sees a giant, clawed, monstrous hand reach in through the window high above the altar and make to extinguish the light.

What a swell and encouraging image. Yes?

Anyway, some readers believe the Eight of Cups conveyseither turning away from felicity and celebration, or the exact opposite[I guess it depends which side of bed the reader fell out of that morning]. Others believe this is a card that calls for the querent (questioner) tolook for a deeper meaning in life; it betokens a time for soul searching. [Preferably without the distraction of a giant, clawed, monstrous hand, would be my guess.]

Anna-Marie Ferguson, creator of the Legend deck, finds this card to be aboutabandoning a path, achange of plans, and escaping an unhealthy situation, among other things. I can work with those meanings, and if you feel that applies to your life in any way at the moment, please take the insight to heart.

Of course, I have my own particular take on the card. When it turns up for a client, once I have gotten them to calm back down from the impact of the visual, I usually say things like

Fortune Cookie: Reach out. Ask for help. Let yourself receive help − help of all kinds from all appropriate levels. Especially seek assistance from those who are extremely capable of helping you understand, take on and overcome the difficulties [or go after the new goals] that may be trying to creep up [or that are emerging].

Okay. For those of you who weren’t focusing all so very swell when this card showed up way back toward at the end of March:

Yo! Yo! Ovah Heeeyah! Ye-yah. Heee-yah! I’m tawking to yuuu—-uuuuuu!

PAY ATTENTION!

[And by the way, what DIDN’T you ask for help with back then that you might have. Eh?] [And and, as it showedup for us on Feb. 29, Leap Day, may I strongly suggest again that we all look at the entire rest of the year through the lens this particular card offers? Pretty please? With caviar and party franks? Or Frank’s party?]

As I said the last couple of times this card showed up, this is really one of those cards that a client only has to see for about a second before they start whining and puling. Can’t say I blame them, based on how the Eight of Swords is usually depicted.

Even in my Legend deck, the largest elements are Guenevere tied to the stake, wood piled about her, the executioner (looking very much like Lurch from the original Adams family) ready to set the pyre alight. Charmin’ all ’round, ’tis.

So when intuitive consultants (Tarot types) typically offer interpretations along the lines of bad news, conflict, slander, crisis, regret and being held at a disadvantage − I suppose I can see why a client might whimper some.

However − as most of you have already begun to say under your breath – ol’ Nealio, he don’t see it THAT way.

Let’s think about something for a second. [Yes, you have to. Have another coffee or a strawberry cough pancake for pity’s sake.]

Why do people come to guys like me for a reading? [Be nice. Remember, I STILL know your email address.] [And besides, I need the answer to that question for a fall marketing blitz.]

People should NOT NOTNOT come to a Tarot reader just to hear what’s gonna happen. They SHOULD work with people of my ilk to learn what THEY need to know that will help THEM maximize success and optimize outcomes!BIIIIIIIG difference!

I like a phrase my wife shared with me. “Some American Indians think of prophecy as that which can be changed.”

So, you come to me for a reading. The Eight of Swords turns up. You start looking for a place to hide. You find you don’t fit under the table and you can’t leap from the window because we’re in a basement.

So I say,

Wait a minute! Wait! Wait! Wait!

[Wait!]Don’t leap (or claw your way up) to conclusions!

The first thing this card is telling you is that, if you’ve been feeling bound, trapped, concerned that there’s some negativity trying to bring you down, you’re right. You’re not just being a wuss.

But! BUT!!!!! Look carefully at the card, Watson.

The Queen is tied to the stake and about to become an order of crispy-crunchy, dipping sauce upon request, no vegans please. However, peer more closely [I’m exerting peer pressure] and you’ll see there are knights coming over the hill, riding to her rescue. And, if you remember your old Richard Harris movies, they will succeed.

This card is a gift to you, warning you in advance of possible crisis and other down-side realities. And sure, if you freeze like a deer in the headlights, you will become Highway Sushi.

How should you deal with this card? Do what Guenevere did.

Reach out.

Ask for help.

Let yourself receive help − help of all kinds from all appropriate levels.

Especially seek assistance from those who are extremely capable of helping you understand, take on and overcome the difficulties [or go after the new goals] that may be trying to creep up [or that may be emerging].

That will lead you to the most positive outcome possible, and even to a successful turnaround of the situation.

This card offers an end to adversity and a new beginning.

Let me repeat that for greater effect:

This card offers

an end to adversity

and a new beginning.

But you have to reach out for itand grab the help when it’s there. (After all, don’t you owe it to all the rest of us to make your life, and thus the greater vibration, better?)

Feeling tied down or tied in knots? DON’T try to handle it alone. Reach out. Get general support from all those who care about you. Engage those who have the strength, skill and wisdom to help you free yourself and move on to new, bright possibilities. And make it a habit not to go solo any more. Reach out. Ask for help − of the highest and best kind.

Bright blessings, hope, peace and joy!

Quote for the Day: Let a joy keep you. Reach out your hands and take it when it runs by. ~ Carl Sandburg

Fortune Cookie: Go back to the shop. Spend some time hammering out a few of the most basic details about who you are, what you believe, what your foundation is, what you want to build — and why.

Hmmmmm…

Hmmmmmmmm-mmmmm….

We last saw this card at the end of January. This really is a very helpful card.

Yes, really.

But still, I can’t help wanting to launch just a wee tiny technicolor

Oh,Bugger!!!

There. I feel much better now.

As I said, this IS such a valuable card. [And it’s one of my longer posts, for which I apologize.] [Yes, really. But don’t expect me to grovel, mind…] So here we go.

As we have seen, this is definitely another of those OhBugger! kinda cards, at least from its appearance — in ANY Tarot deck.

It’s one of those cards for which − by my interpretation, which veers a good piece from the norm − I’m supposed to tell you, “Ah, yes, yes, yes. Don’t jump to conclusions. Don’t leap before you look. Really significant opportunities for growth and learning here.”

And as I always ask,

Remember the teachers (from high school math types to your skating coach to Ram Dass to Mother Teresa to Miss Laura on Romper Room to un-indicted senators and everybody in between) who have handed you that “really significant opportunities for growth and learning here” shitake? It always really means, “Get ready for some deep down bone-crunching head-spinning hard work!” Even I admit that, and I have the honesty quotient of a dried mugwort.

Well, so, maybe that old hard work thing IS the case here. Maybe. But with this card, it’s also a matter of IMPORTANT work that will be worth your time and energy for sure. Hard work, yeah, yeah, true, but SO VERY meaningful.

Now, The Tower isn’t a dire card, at least not as I’ve been given to understand it – intuitively and through my experience with clients.

But when my clients see it as it’s depicted in theLegend deck − a huge red dragon fighting a ginormous white one, completely destroying a massive royal fortress in the process – it sort of makes them go, “Eeep-Mewlp,” suck in their breath, swallow hard and say, “WTF!” [That’s Westphalian Tahini Fibre.]

So what’s different about my understanding of the card and what it offers? I usually say something like:

The card is asking you to examine yourself, your hopes & dreams and your being.

It’s saying, Hey. Stop for a minute. Look at your life. Think about it now.

If you take your life down to its foundation, down to what’s REALLY important, what’s really essential to the you that is really you, then

WHAT IS THAT TRUE FOUNDATION?

Who are you? What are you? What is it that you REALLY care about and REALLY have available to build upon, and wish to build upon, this time around?

And, by the way, WHAT will you build upon it?

This evaluation should be applied to every area of significance in your life, particularly those in which you’re experiencing some transition. [Transition. What a weenieword.

How aboutStress!!!

Or Wobble!!!

Or OutrightCAVINGIN!!!

Better?]

What is the true foundation – for YOU:

What is the true foundation of career?

What is the true foundation of family?

What is the true foundation of relationships – of each and every kind, from the most intimate and powerful to minor friendships to the bagger at the grocery store?

What is the true foundation of joy?

What is the true foundation of spiritual connectedness?

What is the true foundation of physical health?

What is the true foundation of emotional health?

What is the true foundation of creativity?

What is the true foundation of home?

What is the true foundation of beauty?

And so on, all through the entire list: everything on your own personal list of areas of your life that are important to you.

What IS the true foundation for YOU?

[And how many different type faces can this idiot insert for no good reason in one single post?]

Once you know what your various true foundations are, then you can determine what you’d like to build upon them, how you want to do it, and what the best way is to go about it.

And it’s perfectly okay if what you wish to build changes. It can be a villa at one time, a pagoda another, a log cabin next and a fairy castle sometime after that. So long asyou know WHAT your foundations TRULY are, and honor them, then what you are about building is and will be perfect.

What are your foundations in each area of your being? How can you be mindful of them? How can you stay mindful of them? What do you wish to build upon them? How can you begin today?

Bright blessings and a deep, happy, helpful knowing of yourself!

Quote for the Day:“…we learned of a new pilot study suggesting that meditating for just 30 minutes a day for eight weeks effected physical changes in the gray matter of the brain associated with memory, stress, and empathy. The subject of the study was Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program.”~ Institute of Noetic Sciences E News

Today’s Weather:Skippiny-hoppiny. Tzin-tzan-tzun. BLAT!

On This Date:1891 – The Music Hall in New York City (later known as Carnegie Hall) has its grand opening and first public performance, with Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor.

Not that this post isn’t already waaay long enough, BUT:

Hellmann’s Mayonnaise – a bit of history.

Most people don’t know that back in 1912, Hellmann’s mayonnaise was
manufactured in England.

In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled
for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call
for the great ship after its stop in New York .

This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever
delivered to Mexico.But as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York . The ship
hit an iceberg and sank, and the cargo was forever lost.

The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise, and were eagerly
awaiting its delivery, were disconsolate at the loss. Their anguish was so great

that they declared a National Day of Mourning, which they still observe to this day.

The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5th and is known,
of course as :

Fortune Cookie: Go after the joy. Seek it, quest after it, demand it!And for pity’s sake, at least be sure you can actuallydefine what it is − or whatit would be, if you had your druthers − for you.

What a great card for an early Spring day! And it’s a GREAT and also actually useful card for consideration any day at all. At all. Any. Day?

So are we ready to pay attention? Huh? Huh? Eh?

That’s good, because it’s an important card with a very solid reminder. A reminder of what?

A reminder that we [most of us who are over five years old, ennyway] really need towork on joyfulness in our lives.I know. Sounds couter-intuitive. Right? Well, toobadpayattention.

So. Joyfulness. My advice would be to stop reading this, have a Guiness or a Mimosa or a tequila sunrise or an Irish coffee or some God Bud pancakes or strawberry cough brownies, or a…

Oh, wait. The blog police are zooming around the office. Sniffing for fumes. [Creeps.] But that doesn’t mean YOU shouldn’t enjoy yourself in any of the ways suggested.

Anyway, we really needto work on joyfulnessin our lives.Really.

This is another card where my interpretation may diverge a tidly, tadly bit [or a monster bunch] from that of other readers. And I’m pretty joyful about it.

Some see the Seven of Cups as recommending opening to visionsthrough contemplation.[My astrologer Mary Ellen tells me this is a big year for me in that realm. Guess I better clean out the meditation room.] [Where did I leave it?] [Pyeah. It’s behind that pile of books on Feng Shui.]

Mustn’t argue with that opening to visions through contemplation, ever, unless you’re ready to have the Storm Troopers ofLightcome kick yer butt all across the floor, not to mention several dimensions, with at least one of them being Texas. And gold lamé spacesuits with emerald wings and ruby go-go boots first thing in the morning is more than I can handle.

Told ya!.

Some readers find the card dictates that the querent (questioner) has a choice tomake, andmust decide upon one of various options.[Like where to put the old canoe, kayac, Yuletide tree and life-size statues of Grover Cleveland and Teddy Roosevelt and pile of books on Feng Shui now that I’m clearing out the meditation room?]

Anna-Marie Ferguson, creator of theLegenddeck, sees this card as betokening – among other things − fantasy, whims or perhaps a bizarre turn of events.Right up my alley. [My office cat refers to my desk as the Bizar Bazar.]

I see the Seven of Cups as the card of utter, total complete joy and joyfulabandon.

There may be some need to stay at least a bit grounded, so you DON’T go completely off into the realm of fantasy in a

“҉҉҉ Wow, look at all the pretty colors! ҉҉ I’ll betcha I can too live on air and rainbows and weird pancakes ҉҉ ҉ !”kinda scenario.

But [but! but! but! but! but!] this is also the card of Fairy Favors, creativity and clear vision around attaining true desires.[Legally.] (And, as I said to a client in a recent reading, it really does imply that you’re going to do some meaningful work on defining and owning what your TRUE desires in this life actually are!)

Right?

And this can be a great, great time to do some wishcraft around becoming reacquainted with the Green Fey Friends down the garden way now that Spring is finally really here, and work to re-earn the Fairy Favors they offer.

So go after the joy. Seek it, quest after it, demandit! And for pity’s sake, at least be sure you can actually define what it is − or what it would be, if you had your druthers − for you.

Let yourself renew your belief in and commitment to yourhappiness, and be open to the myriad magical ways the universe may offer to bring it to you. Let yourself be open to surprises and miracles in that regard.And open to a little Fairy Magic today!

Joy! Joy! Joy!

And JOY!!!

Bright blessings!

And don’t forget joy!

Quote for the Day: Too many people live the lives other people think they ought to, following orders they don’t agree with, for causes they don’t believe in. They live lives that don’t matter, that touch no one and change nothing.~ Simon R. Green

And: What is the world coming to, when you can’t even trust a rogue vicar and her demon lover? ~ SRG

Today’s Weather: Hyacinths. Blue jays. Intergalactic double-plays.

On This Date:1810 – Beethoven composes his famous piano piece, Für Elise.

Fortune Cookie: How can you liberate yourself, your creativity, your spirit today? What do you need or what can you do so that you can JUST GO FOR IT!!!?[And not get arrested, of course.]

We last saw this card just one day shy of four months ago. It’s a good card to have come up in any season.

Liberation is important to us all in our day to day lives. It can involve freedom from from prejudice and hate, but also, from preconception and emotional baggage. So please bear those elements in mind as you review what the card has to offer.

As I have said before [and I now realize I say with conspicuous regularity], “Ahhhhhh, yes. Yepper, yepper, yep, yessirino! Another card where my interpretation veers semi-wildly off in a direction of its own.”

Other readers give this card meanings like speed, action, movementtoward opportunity, a test of skill, and an adventure. It’s considered a good omen.

So if any of those are what you need today, by all means grab ’em and run! Run!!!

I see the Eight of Spears as the card of utter, total complete liberation. It’s an indicator that it is time for you to explore for yourself:

how it is that you may give yourself

more freedom to

go where you want to go

when you want to go there

by the means and

at the speed of your own choosing.

Given that, you KNOW my questions if you were my client would start with something like,

SO! How are you keeping yourself confined?

How are you confining yourself in ways that are no longer appropriate for who you have become and what you may give to the world?

How can you open yourself to a liberation − in your thinking, your behavior, your belief in what is possible and your understanding of how you may go about achieving that possibility?

Please remember that one way in which you may need to… um, try something different is to just freakin’ go for it. It may be a little uncomfortable, but at least it’s owning who you are and freeing yourself up so you can move along YOUR path. [Harm to none and love for all, of course.]

So:

How can you liberate yourself, your creativity, your spirit today? What do you need or what can you do so that you can JUST GO FOR IT!!!?

Bright, free, inspiring blessings!

Quote for the Day:We must be what we are, or we become our enemies. ~ Guy Gavriel Kay, from A Song for Arbonne

Today’s Weather: Owls on the ramparts waiting for a cue. Steady…. Steady….

On This Date: 1820 – The Venus de Milo is discovered on the Aegean island of Melos.